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NBC Intern Files: Emilie, Part 1: “It still seems surreal”

Emilie Mateu, a USC undergraduate senior, was an NBC intern during the London Olympics this past summer. She shared her experiences on her blog, An American Frog in London. She answered several questions on her amazing experience.

USC Interns fight on in Bob Costas’s Studio (from Emilie’s blog)

Why did you want to take this internship?

I would say that I was lucky to have been offered this internship! How could I not take it?! As a Broadcast Journalism major, it doesn’t get better than being offered an internship working with NBC for the Olympics. I had just studied abroad in London so I was really excited to be going back to such a fantastic city for such an epic world event. I have always loved the Olympics because it is one of the very few events that peacefully brings together people from all over the world and it still seems surreal that I was able to play a role in bringing the Olympic experience into people’s homes.

Bob Costas at London 2012 (via USA Today)

You said in your blog post, “I was called on to do everything from finding and buying 50 identical Sony headphones from three different stores, to picking up the gymnastics Director from the hospital. Andy and I would always joke that our skill sets were being used to their fullest capacities.” What are the weirdest assignments you had and why?

As far as weirdest assignments, buying 50 identical headphones was perhaps one of the most time consuming tasks I had because I had to go to three different electronic stores around London – in traffic – to find all of them. Another memorable moment (though there are many) was on a news shoot with Bob Costas. I got to go out on a lot of fun shoots and actually had to hold an umbrella over Bob Costas once when it was raining…Naturally I was the one getting rained on!

“[Also,] I was a Producer at Anennberg TV News last semester and helped produce a piece on Kerri, which was fantastic having just come from being at the Olympics in London. I felt like I was meeting a celebrity, I was sort of star stuck…And she’s so tall, it’s unbelievable!”

I understand you were working on athletes’ profiles in the Daily Stories. Who were your favorite athletes? Who were your favorite profiles?

As far as favorite athletes, I’ve always been a big Misty May/Kerri Walsh fan. I love watching beach volleyball and really admire the passion they’ve shared for the sport and each other over the years. I also love watching swimming so Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin are two of my favorites. Missy is really sweet and down-to-earth, which came through in her profile. I remember being really surprised one day when her parents came in just to watch the piece on their daughter before it aired. I got to see her win her first gold medal, which I’m sure is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Usain Bolt (via the Telegraph)

What were some non-American athletes you really enjoyed? What do you think of Usain Bolt, for example? And Jessica Ennis?

As far as non-American athletes, Usain Bolt was definitely mind-blowing to watch. I was in the office when he was running in the finals of 100m and all of us (including all of the producers and our production manager) had stopped what we were doing to watch his race. The excitement we all felt in that moment is indescribable, because we knew we were watching history unfold. As soon as the gun went off, you could hear everyone hold their breath and then cheering erupted from all of us and even people down the hall. Additionally, my dad is French so whenever there were French athletes in the running for gold I would be cheering for them.

How did the corporate sponsors like Cadbury and McDonald’s factor into your daily life? Did you get any free stuff, or…?

I didn’t get any free stuff from the sponsors but there was the biggest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen in Olympic Park and we always had Cadbury chocolate in the Broadcast Center’s cafeteria…But that’s mostly because it’s a British favorite!